[A] The petitioners argue that repealing the tax will cost the Treasury billions of dollars in lost revenues and will result in either increased taxes in the long run or cuts to Medicare, Social Security, environmental protection and other government programs. Repealing the levy "would enrich the heirs of America’s millionaires and billionaires, while hurting families who struggle to make ends meet," the petition says.

[B] About 120 wealthy Americans had signed or supported a petition to oppose phasing out the tax. President Bush has included the repeal of the tax in his $1.6 trillion tax-cut proposal. Normally when "dozens" of Americans join in a political cause, it is not particularly noteworthy, but in this case the dozens include: George Soros, a billionaire financier; Warren Buffett, an investor listed as America’s fourth-richest person; the philanthropist David Rockefeller Jr. ; and William Gates Sr. , a Seattle lawyer and father of America’s richest man, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates.

[C] Buffett and company cite these factors in their petition calling for opposition to the estate-tax repeal. They also discuss something that’s equally emotional and far more complex: the principle of meritocracy. The idea that everyone in America has an equal chance, that our fates are not determined by accidents of birth, is one of our core values. And nowhere is this principle more revered than in the technology economy; entrepreneurship is almost by definition an expression of meritocracy.

[D] Buffett told the Times that repealing the estate tax would be a "terrible mistake" and the equivalent of "choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold medal winners in the 2000 Olympics. "

[E] An old brokerage commercial says: "He made his money the old-fashioned way: He earned it." There was a perfect parody of the ad in which the line read: "He made his money the old-fashioned way: He inherited it. " In 20 or 50 or 100 years, which of these lines will be right Buffett and Soros and friends, to their credit, want to help make the first one real. Let’s hope this is only one step in that process.

[F] It was refreshing to see Buffett and George Soros and a number of other extremely wealthy luminaries stand up in opposition to President Bush’s proposed repeal of the estate tax. While the policy has some emotional attractions—it would protect the inheritors of some small businesses from having to sell the companies to pay taxes, and it is true that most people have been taxed on their savings once already—in practice the tax repeal would mainly be a windfall for a very small number of very, very rich people.

[G] President will make his case for his $1.6 trillion tax cut plan, delivering a speech at a community center in St. Louis. The proposal would slash federal tax rates across all levels of income, eliminate the so-called marriage penalty and phase out estate taxes. Democrats complain that the plan—which would cut the top rate from 39 to 33 percent—would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and unnecessarily squander expected budget surpluses. Some of the richest Americans are urging Congress not to repeal the estate tax, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. (Feb. 14)

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